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Copyright 1911 
by W. H. Harrison, Jr. 



GCM280908 




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A True Story of General Farming 

on Ten Acres 



Mr. and Mrs. Bruce —Owners of the Farm 


Having heard that a wide-awake progressive farmer, a few 
miles from our colony, was demonstrating what can be done on 
a ten acre farm, in northwest Louisiana highlands, we hunted 
him up and spent a day with him. The one who told us about 
this little farm was so enthusiastic over the results that are being 
obtained, that we expected to find the place devoted to fruit cul¬ 
ture under the most scientific, improved methods, and truck farm¬ 
ing in its most up-to-date form. To our surprise we found neither 
being done, but only the things that the average farmer does 
everywhere. 

After thinking over what we saw and heard, we concluded 
that a description of his methods and the results secured would 
be the best means of convincing folks in other sections of the 


3 





country of the ease with which one may live in comfort and save 
money on a ten acre farm in this, the highest and most healthful 
and most delightful portion of Louisiana. Here the ground can 
be plowed and some crop planted every month of the twelve; the 
folks live with doors and windows open most of the year, and the 
song birds sing the year through. The summers are mild, being 
tempered by cooling breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, making 
it always cool in the shade, with every night cool enough for 
covers. 

In 1907 Mr. Bruce, the owner of this little farm, was clerking 
in a store and living in a rented home. The salary was sufficient 
to provide a good living, but after paying house rent and the usual 
household expenses he had nothing left to lay aside for a rainy 
day. He was in the same condition as tens of thousands of 
wage earners in the cities—receiving good wages and spending 
it all for the family expenses—living in a home that is owned by 
some one else. 

Mrs. Bruce, with wise foresight, called her husband’s atten¬ 
tion to the fact that they were fifty-five years old, and should 
have a home of their own, and that it was high time they set 
about it. 

After deciding to get a home, and, as Mr. Bruce expressed it, 
“Have a home, live at home, and board at the same place,” he 
looked around until he found an opportunity to buy a ten acre 
farm on favorable terms in the highlands of Louisiana. 

They took possession of their new home on December 1st, 
1907. The place was “stocked” with one horse, three cows, and 
a young heifer, three common brood sows, and twenty-five hens. 
During the first six months the hens laid eggs to the amount of 
$1.50 for each hen, besides raising enough chicks to pay all ex¬ 
penses, provide broilers for the table use, and increase the flock 
of hens to forty in the fall. Mrs. Bruce has since kept a flock 
of forty hens, as that is as many as can be comfortably accom¬ 
modated in the poultry house. 

Mr. Bruce bought some lumber at a nearby mill and built 
sheds around the small barn, making five box stalls for his horse 
and cows. He also built a shed for his compost heap. 

I shall not weary you with the details of his work for 1908 


4 


and 1909, but simply state results. He farmed four acres and 
one-half and cleared $450 each year. That was above his living 
and all expenses. For 1910 he cleared $600.00! In the follow- 
ing pages we shall tell you how he did it. 



The Cow Pea Plant* 

In the fall of 1909 he plowed up one and one-half acres of the 
pasture, giving him six acres for crops. About October first he 
sowed one acre with Texas rust proof oats, and harvested them 

*From Farm Bulletin on Cow Peas. 


5 

















May 25th. They were not threshed, but tied in bundles. The 
heads were heavy, and so was the straw. Good judges estimated 
the yield of oats to be 40 bushels or more and one ton of straw. 
His way of feeding them was to run them through a cutting ma¬ 
chine, easily turned by hand, cutting the straw and heads into half¬ 
inch lengths. He dampened and salted this and it was eaten up 
clean by both the cows and the horse. The oat field was pastured 
during the winter when the ground was dry—an average of half 
the time. After they were harvested the ground was plowed and 
sowed broadcast with one bushel of cow peas. They were mowed 
for hay on Sept. 15th, and the acre produced three tons of dry 
hay of fine quality. Neither the oats nor the cow pea hay are 
figured in the returns from the farm, as they were fed on the 
place. The oats could have been sold for 60 cents per bushel, 
making $24.00, and the straw for $6.00, making a total value for 
the oat crop of $30.00. The cow pea hay was selling for $15.00 per 
ton, locally, which would have added $45.00 to the returns from 
that acre, giving a total revenue of $75.00 if the crops had been 
sold instead of fed on the place. 

The cow pea is one of several valuable forage plants of the 
south. Certain nitrogen bacteria live on the roots and after 
breathing the air of the soil, digest the nitrogen and leave it 
attached to the roots in such form that any plant may make use 
of it. The All Wise Creator has placed a store of nitrogen above 
each acre of land in the world estimated at several million dollars 
in value. By growing cow peas Mr. Bruce makes use of this gold 
mine of immense worth, placed at his hand for the asking, there¬ 
by avoiding the necessity of purchasing high-priced nitrogenous 
fertilizers. In the north the progressive farmer uses red clover 
for improving his soil. A two year old red clover sod, turned 
under will not add any more fertilizing elements than will a crop 
of cow peas that can be grown in ninety days, as a catch crop, 
after some other crop has been harvested. The roots on that 
acre of cow peas left twelve dollars worth of nitrogen in the 
soil, to say nothing of the humus, and the mechanical action in 
opening up and making the ground more porous. That acre was 
plowed and sowed to rye and rape and will, from November 15th 
until spring, furnish green feed for his pigs and for his cows 

part of the time. Next year it will be used for corn and peas. 

6 


About February 10th, 1910, he planted one acre with Irish 
potatoes, but the unprecedented cold and dry weather of April 
about ruined them, and he only sold 50 bushels at 75 cents per 
bushel, making $37.50 from the crop. One-lialf of this acre was 
planted with Spanish peanuts after the potatoes were harvested. 
That variety of peanuts is more dependable than other varieties, 
and is the one usually grown by the farmers of North Louisiana. 
It has an upright growth and the nuts grow close together near 



Spanish Peanuts from Farm Bulletin No. 356 


the main stem, and most of them will cling to the plant when it 
is pulled. They are as certain a crop as one can plant, and can 
be planted after winter oats are harvested, or after the spring 
crop of Irish potatoes, or may follow any spring crop, such as 
English peas, string beans, cabbage, or the hay crop from burr 
clover, crimson clover or winter vetch. The nuts are very easy 
to grow. They are planted in rows two and a half to three feet 
apart, and twelve inches apart in the rows. They will grow and 
do fairly well on land that is too poor for corn, and will give 
from twenty to one hundred bushels of nuts per acie, according 


7 












> * 

to soil and season, and the nuts can be sold at an average price of 
$1.00 per bushel. The vines will make a ton to a ton and a half 
of fine hay to the acre. It is worth $12.00 to $15 00 per ton. 
Analysis shows peanut hay to have only ten per cent, less of di¬ 
gestible nutrients than alfalfa. All of the farm stock prefer pea¬ 
nut hay to any other. Many growers turn their hogs into the 
peanut patch and let them eat the tops and root out the nuts. 
The southern experiment stations have demonstrated that pork 
can be made for two cents per pound with 70 cent per bushel 
corn and peanut pasture. The peanut and pig will yet put to 
flight the boll weevil and turn many struggling cotton farmers 
into men of wealth. 



Peanuts Stacked Around Poles 


Peanuts are as easily grown as corn, requiring practically the 
same cultivation. 

If the crop is to be turned over to the hogs to gather, the 
large varieties of peanuts are used by some growers. They are 
more scattered in the ground, but they yield more vines and nuts 
in a favorable season than the Spanish variety, and the nuts may 
be left in the ground all winter without sprouting. 

On August 15th Mr. Bruce harvested twenty-five bushels of 
nuts and one ton of hay from the half acre. The nuts could have 
been sold for $1.00 per bushel and the hay for $15.00. Here is 
a return of $40.00 from the second crop on one-half an acre. It 
is not counted in the returns from the place as the nuts and hay 
were fed at home. 

The other half of the acre of Irish potato land was set to 
sweet potatoes—the genuine Dooley yam. Last year he got a 


8 






crop of 100 bushels from one-third of an acre, but the dry weath¬ 
er this year hurt the yield. He grew 75 bushels of marketable 
potatoes from the half acre. He sells all he grows at $1.00 per 
bushel. He was feeding the vines to his cows. How they did 
like them, and how the milk did flow! In the south, sweet pota¬ 
toes are grown mainly from pieces of vines. If a man wants to 
grow 10 acres of sweet potatoes he will bed out about three bush¬ 
els of potatoes and set out the little plants or “draws” in rows 
across his field. When the vines get to growing in good shape 
they are cut into lengths about 15 inches long and set out, usually 



Sweet Potato Vines. Lima Beans in Background. 


by jabbing them in with a stick and stepping on them to press 
down the dirt. It is a benefit to the crop to have the vines cut 
or trimmed off in this way, and the pieces of vines make more 
and better potatoes than the plants. The sweet potato is a good 
crop for market and for hog raising. They are no more work or 
expense to grow than corn and will produce from 100 bushels to 
500 bushels per acre, according to conditions of the soil and the 
season. 

Like any wise farmer, Mr. Bruce put out a good garden. He 
did not plan to do market gardening, but folks came and insisted 
on buying, until the returns from such sales amounted to $75.00 
during the season. 


9 











The remaining four acres of the farm were planted to corn 
and cow peas. The corn was planted in February. When the 
unusually late freeze came in April, it was hip high. He thought 
at first that it was entirely ruined, but it came out fairly well, and 
from the four acres he gathered 200 bushels. He has a good 
variety of corn and takes care in selecting his seed, and sells his 
entire crop for seed at $1.00 per bushel. This gives him $200.00 
for his crop of corn. The returns would be practically the same 
if he kept it until spring and sold it for feed, as corn usually sells 
for $1.00 per bushel during the spring and summer. 



Corn and Cow Pea_Field J 

Just ahead of the last cultivation he sowed broadcast one 
bushel of the Clay variety of cow peas to the acre. He gathered 
60 bushels of peas from the four acres. They will be kepfuntil 
spring and sold and will bring from $2.50 to $3.00 per bushel. In 
the spring of 1910 they sold up to $4.00 per bushel, and many 
farmers who wanted them were unable to get any even at that 
high price. In his figures for the returns for 1910, Mr. Bruce 
has only counted the cow peas at $2.00 per bushel, $120.00 for 
the crop, which is from $30.00 to $60.00 less than he may reason¬ 
ably expect. 

Mr. Bruce has a small bunch of hogs. I think, large and 
small, there were 19 head. He will make enough meat to last 
them through the year and have 1,000 pounds of pork for sale. 


10 












He counts that in his estimate as $100.00. It will no doubt bring 
considerably more, as part of it will be sold as cured meat. 

When Mr. Bruce bought his place it was in a very bad con¬ 
dition, having been poorly farmed for years, until it was very 
much run down. The neighbors said it was “worn out,” and that 
the Bruces would starve if they depended on the place for a 
living. Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, says there 
is no such thing as “worn out land.” It may become depleted of 
certain elements by improper handling, but those elements are 
easily supplied with proper handling, and the land and the soil 



Corn and Cow Peas. Mr. Bruce Stands 5 ft. 10 in. 


brought into condition for producing good crops. Mr. Bruce 
grew 35 bushels of corn to the acre in 1908, 50 bushels to the acre 
in 1909, and for 1910 expected a crop of 75 bushels to the acre, 
and would have gotten that amount but for the unusual late freeze 
in April. It was no fault of his that the crop was cut to 50 
bushels per acre. Next year he expects 100 bushels of corn to 
the acre from all he plants, and we predict that he will get it. He 
said if he had begun with new land, such as we are offering, in¬ 
stead of a run down place, he would have grown 100 bushels per 
acre the second year. 

The four cows and 40 hens return an average of $20.00 per 
month, $240.00 for the year, from the sale of butter and eggs. 


li 










They have no expense for labor. Mrs. Bruce attends to the 
housework and looks after the chickens. Mr. Bruce milks the 
cows, runs the milk through the cream separator, does the churn¬ 
ing, and all of the farm work. In explaining how easy his work 
is now, compared with standing behind the counter all day, Mr. 
Bruce said: “I only play at work. If necessity required, I could 
cultivate every row of my crops in one day, by beginning at day¬ 
light and working until dark.” As a rule, they both take long 
naps every day after dinner. 

income of this little farm, if the owner would change his com¬ 
mon cows to good registered Jerseys. The change could be 
made gradually by starting with one or two young heifers, and 
it would not take long to have all registered Jerseys. The 
calves would be worth $100.00 more per year than his common 
calves, and the cream would be worth another $100.00 because 
of the increased production of butter. 

Another $100.00 could be added to the net income without 
increasing the expense account any by having a flock of some 
standard breed of thoroughbred fowls instead of their present 
flock. $100.00 would be a small sum to expect from the sale of 
eggs for hatching and from the sale of an occasional pen of birds 
for breeders, without making any special effort along that line. 

Another $100.00 could be added to the profit side of their 
ledger by having only registered hogs of any of the popular 
breeds. A start could be made from the purchase of a registered 
sow, and a herd would soon be established, all choice registered 
stock. The sale of only a few pairs of breeders would increase 
the profits without adding to the' expenses. Mr. Bruce is awake 
to all of these possibilities, and in a few years more will be able 
to show a balance sheet of double the amount of the very hand¬ 
some one for 1910. 

The Secret of His Success 

Taking into consideration all that is known about farming, 
stock raising and fertilizing, some readers may think that is not 
a good heading. It is the easy, simple things that are more often 
neglected. Mr. Bruce is a man of good brain and quick percep¬ 
tion, but it is not on that account he makes such a fine profit from 
his little farm. 


12 


The secret of the results is the compost heap. He devotes 
one-half day each month to work that the average farmer 
neglects. Each of the five box stalls is cleaned, partially as need¬ 
ed, but once a month they are all cleaned thoroughly, and he puts 
in a new bed, 12 to 15 inches deep, of dead grass, waste hay or 
leaves from the nearby forest. The material that is removed is 
put in the compost pen, an open shed, with a roof of boards. He 
does not have a tight roof, as he wants some rain to drip through 
onto the pile of compost. About every foot of the compost is 



Fig Tree, 10 Years Old 


covered with two or three inches of dirt, which aids in prevent¬ 
ing the escape of ammonia and makes it pleasanter in handling 
the mass when it is spread on the land. He aids decomposition 
by occasionally scattering a little phosphate over the pile. He 
has found by experiment that the manure saved in this way, 
during one year from one cow, put on an acre of land will in¬ 
crease the crop on that acre 25 bushels of corn and 10 bushels of 
cow peas. With corn at 50 cents per bushel, and cow peas at 
$2.50 per bushel, both of which usually sell for more, there is a 
return of $37.50 from an acre of land, half a day extra work each 
month and a little trouble of turning the cow into her box stall 

each evening. 


13 




















More Profits in the Future 

Mr. Bruce is planning to set out 50 fig trees. They are easily 
grown from cuttings of new growth. That number of trees can 
be set out around a farm without taking up any room wanted 
for crops. The fig delights in a home in fence corners and by the 
side of barns and sheds—spaces that would not otherwise be used 
for any purpose. They begin to bear in two years and give a crop 
every year. In cases of a late spring frost, they wait a few weeks 
and put out another full crop, instead of waiting until another 
year like other fruit trees. Twice in the memory of the oldest 
citizens the fig trees have been frozen to the ground, but the roots 
were uninjured. They put out a strong growth the same season, 
and the following year produced a crop of figs. There is no crop 
of fruit so certain as figs, and none more profitable when they are 
utilized the right way. The fig tree shown in the illustration gave 
a crop of thirty bushels of figs during the season of 1910. This 
is a large tree, and yet it may seem to you that thirty bushels is 
a very large crop. It will not seem so large when you know that 
from such a tree you can gather bucketfuls of ripe figs every 
day for from four to eight weeks. A quart of figs will make a 
pint of preserves. Thirty bushels will fill forty dozen pint jars. 
At $3.00 per dozen jars that would make a return of $120.00 
from one tree. You can figure the profit by deducting cost of 
jars, about fifty cents per dozen, and a little less than a pound 
of sugar for each pint. Preserving plants pay from five cents to 
ten cents per quart for ripe figs. At five cents per quart the 
thirty bushels gathered from the tree shown in the illustration 
would bring a return of $48.00. Fifty such trees would, at that 
rate, amount to $2,400.00, and not interfere in any way with 
other farm crops. Mr. Bruce will find that his fifty fig trees will 
add a very considerable sum to his income even while the trees 
are young. 

Looking Farther into the Future for More Profits 

Mr. Bruce is just waking to the possibilities of profits from 
growing pecans. They grow wild in portions of the parish and 
the hickory, a sister tree, is found everywhere. It is an entirely 
practical scheme for Mr. Bruce to set out his entire farm to 
pecans. They should be set 60 feet apart, 12 trees to the acre. 
They take up such a small portion of the space that they will 
interfere very little with the crops grown between the trees. The 
pecan lives to be centuries old, and when ten to twelve years old 


14 


will begin to return good crops. By setting only choice varieties 
of large paper shell pecans, one can get from 50 cents to 75 cents 
per pound for the nuts. At half that price a ten year old tree 
should return $10.00 to $15.00 worth of nuts. From that age 
on the crop will increase very fast. It is not uncommon for a 
tree, twenty-five years old, to produce nuts to the value of $100.00 
or more. 120 such trees would mean an income of $12,000.00 
from a single crop. Every owner of land should set out a few 
acres of choice pecans and take good care of them for a few years 
until they get a good start. He can thereby provide a good living 
for his old age, and leave behind a legacy that will be far more 
valuable to his children and grandchildren than any life insurance 
policy he may be able to carry. By planting nuts where the trees 
are wanted, and then budding or grafting with the desired vari¬ 
ety, the expense is not great to get a pecan grove started. A little 
attention, and a little patience is all that is required to lay a sure 
foundation for an old age free from worry or hard work. 

A Statement of Results for 1910 


Butter and eggs sold during the vear.$M0.00 

200 bu. corn sold for seed at $1.00 per bu. . 200.00 
60 bushels cow peas at $2.00 per bushel. . . . 120.00 
1.000 pounds of pork at 10 cents per lb. . . . 100.00 
75 bushels sweet potatoes, at $1.00 per bu. . 75.00 

Vegetables sold from the garden. 75.00 

50 bushels Irish potatoes at 75 cts. per bu. . 37.50 


$847.50 

Vacation trip for himself and wife 

during August .$ 85.00 

Other expenses not to exceed.... 162.50 $247.50 

Net profit for 1910.$600.00 

They took life comparatively easy, had a good time, lived 
well, under their own “vine and fig tree,” and had a surplus of 
six hundred dollars for investment. A few cows, a few pigs, a 
few chickens, and just plain ordinary farm crops that anyone 
can grow who has sense enough to hold a plow or handle a shovel. 
When I told Mr. Bruce that I should tell the world about his 
little farm he said, “Tell them that my message to them is: 
COME THOU AND DO LIKEWISE 

W. H. HARRISON, Jr. 

15 

One copy del. to Cat. Div. 


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